The reality is more complex.

Custer was both a man of genuine military ability and a man who made choices at the Washita — and at the Little Bighorn, with his characteristic disregard for reconnaissance and his division of his force in the face of a much larger enemy — that produced avoidable deaths, including his own.

For Black Kettle, the relevant fact is simple: Custer attacked his camp at dawn, killed him and his wife, and destroyed his village.

Whether Custer was ordered to do this, whether he knew specifically who he was attacking, and whether he had other options are all legitimate historical questions.